Britannia eyes recovery, leans on cost cuts and adjacencies | India Business News

Britannia eyes recovery, leans on cost cuts and adjacencies

BENGALURU: Britannia Industries managing director Varun Berrysaid the company is seeing early signs of demand recovery and expects this momentum to continue into the financial year ending March 2026, though not in a sharp, “hockey-stick” manner.“We have seen gradual recovery and I do think that this trend is going to continue into the next year as well,” he told analysts during the Q4 earnings call on Monday.On Thursday, Britannia Industries reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,177.86 crore for the financial year ended March 2025, up 2% from Rs 2,134.22 crore in the previous year. Consolidated sales of goods rose about 6% to Rs 17,535.02 crore from a year earlier. For the March quarter alone, net profit stood at Rs 559.13 crore, up 4% year-on-year, while revenue increased 9% to Rs 4,432.19 crore.Berry told analysts that a cost-saving programme delivered a return of 9x on the base year of FY14. “We went into overdrive because inflation had become high… we achieved more than what we had set out to do,” he added.Britannia faced steep inflation in key raw materials such as palm oil (54% YoY), cocoa (83%), and milk (21%). While price increases were taken late in the year, Berry said further hikes may not be needed if commodity trends remain stable. The company remains cautious about potential price cuts from smaller rivals, but Berry believes it’s unlikely in the near term.Adjacencies beyond biscuits continue to gain traction. Categories such as cakes, croissants, milkshakes, and cheese emerged as growth drivers, with some nearing or crossing Rs 200 crore in revenue. The relaunch of cheese with aligned pricing across channels led to over 40% growth in traditional trade. “We’re not declaring victory yet, but early trends in ecommerce and GT are promising,” Berry noted.Quick commerce, currently 4% of Britannia’s sales, is expected to grow to 8% over the next three years. While competition from digital-first and D2C players exists, Berry said it hasn’t significantly impacted Britannia yet. He added that the company will continue expanding its premium portfolio and selectively evaluate inorganic opportunities, but will remain focused on return metrics.